Agrochemicals and Cameroonian farmers

By Mofor Samuel

The use of chemicals is one of the most disputed issues in agricultural development. In Cameroon, they range from fertilizer, herbicides to pesticides. To some experts, providing enough good and agricultural raw material for Cameroon’s growing population, synthetic fertilizer, chemical pesticides and high yielding seed varieties must be used. According to them, increasing yields per unit of land additionally benefit the environment by limiting the encroachment of the agricultural frontier into national reserves.
Toxic chemicals pose many risks and hazards which emerge throughout the substance life cycle, be it during the production, transportation or distribution, storage, use or disposal. Therefore there is every reason to ask this question: how much chemical use is needed by the country’s agriculture? Far from being a discussion between agricultural experts and advocates of environmental protection only, the debate the debate goes to the heart of the current policy discussions about how to achieve the targets of the Millennium Development declaration.
Agrochemicals can contribute to increased agricultural productivity if their use is limited and targeted. Improving safety when handling chemicals is a way to actively protect human health and the environment. Above all, it protects the poorest in the society, who suffer most from the lack of safety precautions and from short term objective of maximizing profit.
On the other hand, the increase availability of generic, non-brand, off-patent pesticides in developing countries and Cameroon too, especially in the case of insecticides, tend to be broad- spectrum compounds which destroy the balance of the agro- ecosystems by killing beneficial insects that might have otherwise served as natural pest control. Generic pesticides tend to be inexpensive but more toxic for human health and the environment. There is also a severe loss of topsoil fertility from overuse of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Also, excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer is responsible for the contamination of ground water sources.
In Cameroon today, particularly around the Banana Plantations, where aerial spraying is constantly being carried out, the local population is at risk. They farm close to these plantations with no protective clothing and do not adhere to the waiting period after chemicals have been applied, use water sources close to the plantations for watering and irrigation. Women and children are particularly at risk. They apply the pesticides or wash contaminated clothes for their husbands and fathers respectively. There is no protection period for pregnant women or nursing mothers. Since spraying equipment and plant protection products are expensive, to guard against theft, they are stored in bedrooms or living rooms. Leftover pesticides are often not properly kept thus exposing younger children to poisoning. In short the use of agrochemicals serves as a potential danger to people directly involved in food production and also affects population groups who have no contact with agrochemicals. In Buea for example, certain people do not eat anything vegetable or tuber cultivated around the Molyko-Muea and Mile 16 (Bolifamba) areas. Cases have also been reported of poisoning due to poor handling of agrochemicals not leaving out the numerous cases of diarrhoeal diseases experienced by the population after having consumed foodstuff cultivated with chemical fertilizer.
The government should give organic manure the place it deserves at least, as far as the cultivation of food crop is concerned. Farmers who equally rear animals must be made to understand that, fowl, pig, goat and sheep droppings etc can serve as very good manure for their vegetable gardens and farmlands. Agriculture extension workers must be given the necessary assistance needed to pass the message across and follow up its implementation on the field.
This will not only prevent further health hazards but will also help the farmers to save some money. Finally, environmental degradation from chemical use on the farmland will be reduced and soil fertility guaranteed.